International Missions

Tim and Mary Sue are a husband-and-wife team from northern Minnesota, where they had fruitful careers as professional educators and started their family of four kids (Hannah, Elizabeth, Samuel and Benjamin.) Over time, God began to lead them toward a new adventure in ministry. In 2009 they packed up their home and moved their family to West Africa, where they joined a ministry team of Converge global workers in the Metro SenWest Initiative. Now, with their kids all grown and settled into life in the States, Tim and Mary Sue have embarked on a new ministry direction. Joining Converge colleagues in the Metro SenWest Initiative, Tim and Mary Sue will engage in outreach through teaching English as a second language (or third or fourth) to university students and young business professionals in Dakar. Students who come to our English resource center are predominantly Muslims, and many come from unreached people groups in and around the region. 

Brooks and Riva Cain married in 2007 and have been working together in youth ministry ever since. Brooks is an ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church in America and Riva is a licensed professional counselor. They both received Masters degrees from Covenant Theological Seminary in 2011. In 2013, the Cains moved to Nagoya, Japan in order to lead Mission to the World’s Next Team. The Cains are involved in outreach to middle school, high school, and college students through their church All Nations Fellowship; teaching ministry courses at Christ Bible Seminary; and ministering to missionary kids and their families across the Asia-Pacific region. The Cains love spending time outdoors, exploring their city, and eating yummy food. Most of all, they enjoy spending time with their beautiful children: Quinn, Marley, and John. They are in the process of adopting little Charlie into their family. 

Brian and Yoko have been serving with PIONEERS in Japan since 1998. The Lord has blessed them with three precious daughters. By God's grace, the missionary teams with whom they have served have been a part of the establishment of two churches, the revitalization of one church, and the launch of a training ministry for new missionaries arriving in Japan. At the end of 2020, they came alongside a new missionary team leader to serve a Japanese church that desires to plant a new church. Their ministry focuses mainly on evangelism, discipleship, and biblical counseling and when needed they help with the mentoring of new missionaries and the forming of new partnerships with Japanese churches. 

Carol came to Christ through the ministry of Campus Crusade for Christ and the prayers of her Gamma Phi Beta Sorority sisters. It was at UCLA that she met basketball player Jack L. Arnold. As a pastor’s wife and homemaker, she with Jack served churches in California, Virginia (Jack served as pastor at Grace Church in Roanoke from 1966 until 1984), South Carolina and Orlando, raising four sons. In 1997, Carol and Jack began Equipping Pastors International (EPI). Carol has traveled to all six continents, speaking at conferences and seminars to both pastors and their wives, as well as to lay women of all denominations. After Jack’s death in January 2005, she has continued as a full-time missionary with EPI. Carol enjoys spending time with her 12 grandchildren, 18 great grandchildren, art, reading, hosting guests in her home and traveling. 

Amber grew up with her grandparents and had a difficult relationship with her parents. She was bitter and found refuge in sports and tried to be to be “good enough.” She became a successful professional player and later a coach, but felt that her life was empty until God transformed her and sent her on mission trips to several countries. While serving as a headmaster (preschool-secondary) of the Rafiki Classical Christian Education School in Kenya, Amber met and married Paul in Kenya in 2022 and they now partner in ministry. Also in 2022, Rafiki transferred them to Uganda, where Amber teaches and Paul is in his post-graduate education, studying to become a minister. 

Jeannette Shubert, a staff member with Cru since 1981, has focused on leadership development through teaching, mentoring and life coaching as well as discipling women in various parts of the world. She has taught at EAST since 2009. She enjoys seeing students in her classes learn to teach the Scriptures with excellence and passion. 

Rev. Dr. Keith Shubert is an ordained minister with the Conservative Baptist (USA) and has been a staff member of Cru since 1971. He initially ministered among university students at Virginia Tech and Temple University prior to assuming regional leadership and national training responsibilities. He has taught Bible classes at three seminaries: International School of Theology (USA); Dallas Theological Seminary (USA); and at the International Graduate School of Leadership (Philippines). 

Julie and Randy have been privileged to serve pastors and church leaders in East Africa for the past ten years. In addition to in-person visits to Africa, they work with other pastors there to provide a regular schedule of Zoom conferences with various other pastors, now in five different countries in East Africa and beyond. These pastors are receiving exegetical and theological instruction in small groups in churches and homes; and some pastors meet us online their studies or homes. 

Randy is also the creator of the website ExegeticalTheology.com, in which he and other pastors provide lectures on theology for people all over the world. 

“Providencia” church gathers in the “Junquito” (hunKEEtoe) which is located on the mountains outside of the capital of Caracas - Venezuela. El Junquito has a population of over 50,000 people. I live in this same community with my wife Lucy and our 3 children, Hans, Natalia and Benjamin. I pastor “Providencia” church and my dear wife leads the women’s and children’s ministries of the church. By God’s grace Providencia is currently made up of about 46 people. These are all people from within the community. We gather every Sunday morning for worship and the teaching of God’s Word and every Wednesday evening for prayer and fellowship.